


lying and the other

by boyslightup



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: (The Master destroyed it), Angst, Cartmel Masterplan, Gallifrey, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22236985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boyslightup/pseuds/boyslightup
Summary: The Master knows the truth about the Doctor. He has always known the truth about the Doctor, but he can't face it. He doesn't want to.
Relationships: The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who)
Kudos: 41





	lying and the other

Deep down, buried in the unknown regions of his subconscious, embedded in unlocked strands of DNA, the Master knows the truth about the Doctor. He senses it, he always has, but he’s a liar; and liars can’t hold onto the truth for too long. Instead, he glosses over it, living in vain and chasing down the Doctor and leaving smoking ruins in his trail, needing them to come to him; seeking what he believed they once were, not who they really are. 

He flies through the galaxies, weaving in and out of the supernovas whose essence floods through the veins in every single body he has, even the stolen ones. He’s the Master; he is a supernova. Brilliant and beautiful, a powerful light that collapses and dies a stellar death, it’s energy shattering and breathing new life. If only the Doctor saw him like that. 

The Master could stand over the Doctor, one hand on their waist and the other gentle on their face with his fingertips tangled in their hair, the Doctor telling him they do, but he doesn’t believe it. He doesn’t understand it. The only name he lets them use is  _ ‘Master’ _ , one that makes their place beneath him, in his grasp so he can feel like they belong to him; but the Doctor doesn’t belong to anyone. Infatuation, no,  _ love _ , does not equal control.

As he stands on the edge of a broken world with the screams of those he killed in its destruction ringing in his ears, he thinks of the Doctor and what they’d think of what he’s done. He doesn’t feel remorse, slaughter is an art he has perfected and an artist always loves their art, but he feels a twinge of guilt for disappointing them; but it’s not like the Doctor hasn’t done it before. The Doctor has killed before, and the Master knows they will do it again someday.

The Master breathes in the choking scent of rubble and putrid smoke, enjoying its familiarity, but it brings back the feeling he had when he burned Gallifrey. The red hot anger that scorched his soul, the vengeance that rattled his bones, and the guilt he spat out. He goes back to the knowledge of who the Doctor is, the thought teetering on the edge of his subconscious, a tiny push throwing it into the abyss, all to be forgotten for a while. 

“They lied to me,” He mumbles, “Our friendship was a lie. Our life was a lie.”

The thought, despite its brevity, hurts. The lie sinks into him, it’s jagged teeth biting his hearts and ripping them to shreds. He envisions the old days, a time before the Time Lords existed, back to the foundation of their society. Three sit on an ancient council, two familiar and one he’s only heard of in legends, but it sings in his blood. He’s felt it before, but not in the shape in his mind. The shape of the Doctor’s essence that he can taste on his tongue and feel vibrating in the parts of his soul they’ve touched.

The Doctor isn’t new, not a creature birthed from nothing, but one birthed from the legends of the founding fathers. Rassilon, Omega, _ the Other _ . The Master knows they know, and it stings that they never told him. He hates them for it, but he can never hate the Doctor long enough for it to matter. He can hurt them, smiling as he watches them suffer, but it never lasts, not even now. 

The Master has to come to terms with it. He has to get comfortable with the fact the Doctor isn’t who they said they are, even though, as much as it sounds like it doesn’t make sense, they still are. The Doctor is the Other, but the Other is not the Doctor.

He knows none of it was worth destroying Gallifrey for, but he had to. It was the only suitable way to make them pay for the ultimate lie; making them alone in the universe again.

**Author's Note:**

> i keep thinking about lungbarrow and spyfall so that's how this was born! i'm waiting for chibnall to spring the cartmel masterplan 2.0 on us with the timeless child (which i know won't happen) so i'm making that up myself


End file.
